A VPN protects your privacy by hiding your real IP address and encrypting your internet connection. However, it can’t control everything your browser reveals. Depending on its settings and built-in features, your browser may still expose more information about your online activity than you’d like. In this guide, we’ll look at five browser settings worth checking to improve your VPN privacy and reduce the risk of unwanted exposure.
Disable WebRTC
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a set of web technologies that allows browser-based apps to support real-time communication, such as video calls, voice chats, and peer-to-peer data transfers, without requiring additional plugins.
The problem is that WebRTC may, in some situations, expose information about your IP address or network interfaces while you’re connected to a VPN. This is known as a WebRTC leak, and it can undermine your VPN privacy by potentially revealing information that the VPN is supposed to keep private.
Fortunately, Surfshark includes WebRTC protection that prevents websites from using WebRTC to discover your IP address and location.
In Firefox, you can disable WebRTC by typing about:config in the address bar, accepting the warning, and changing media.peerconnection.enabled to false.
Chrome and Edge don’t offer a straightforward built-in switch to disable WebRTC, so you can use an extension such as WebRTC Network Limiter.
In its settings, select “Use my proxy server (if present)”. This tells WebRTC to use the configured proxy where possible, rather than establishing connections outside it, helping reduce the risk of IP exposure.
Location Permissions
A VPN can hide your real IP address, but it doesn’t control your browser’s Geolocation API.
Once you grant a website permission to access your location, the browser can use available location data to estimate where you are. Depending on your device and operating system, this may involve sources such as your IP address, nearby Wi-Fi networks, GPS, or other location services.
So, if you click “Allow” when a website asks for your location, it may receive a much more precise location estimate than your IP address alone could provide.
The problem is that we often grant this permission without giving it much thought—for example, when using mapping, weather, or other location-based services. This can undermine your VPN privacy, because the website may be able to determine your actual location independently of the VPN. Once granted, the permission can also remain enabled for that particular site until you revoke it.
In Chrome, go to Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Location and choose the option that prevents sites from accessing your location.
In Firefox, you’ll find the corresponding setting under Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions → Location.
Use Secure DNS
Whenever you visit a domain, your device needs to perform a DNS lookup to translate the domain name into an IP address. Normally, that request is handled by a DNS server provided by your internet service provider.
When you’re connected to a VPN, DNS queries are typically routed through the VPN tunnel to the VPN provider’s DNS servers rather than your ISP’s. If your DNS requests are sent to your ISP instead, you have what’s known as a DNS leak.
In that case, your ISP may be able to see which domains you’re looking up, even though the actual contents of your internet traffic remain encrypted. That can undermine your VPN privacy.
The simplest way to avoid this is to use a VPN service with built-in DNS leak protection.
For example, Surfshark includes DNS leak protection without requiring an additional browser extension or complicated manual configuration.
As an extra layer of protection, you can also use DNS over HTTPS (DoH), which encrypts DNS queries between your browser and the DNS resolver.
In Firefox, you’ll find the relevant option under Settings → Privacy & Security → DNS over HTTPS.
In Chrome, go to Settings → Privacy and security → Security → Use secure DNS.
You can also enable DoH at the operating-system level in Windows. This protects DNS queries from applications across the system, rather than just those made by your browser. We’ve covered how to set it up step by step in a previous guide.
Browser Sync
Most of us sign in to our browser with a Google or Mozilla account so we can sync things like browsing history, bookmarks, extensions, and open tabs across our devices.
However, synced data remains associated with the account or profile it belongs to, regardless of whether you’re connected to a VPN.
A VPN can hide your real IP address from websites, but it doesn’t sign you out of accounts you’re already logged into.
For example, if you’re signed in to your Google account in Chrome, Google can associate activity across its services with that account, even when your internet connection is routed through a VPN.
So, if you want to improve your VPN privacy, consider using a separate browser or browser profile without signing in to a personal account.
That way, your VPN and browser can work together to provide better privacy, rather than relying on one to undo what the other can reveal.
Third-Party Cookies and Browser Fingerprinting
Even if you’ve taken all the steps above to improve your VPN privacy, there’s another form of tracking that a VPN can’t prevent on its own: browser fingerprinting.
Websites can collect various details about your device and browser, including your screen resolution, operating system, language, time zone, installed fonts, and information that can be extracted using techniques such as Canvas fingerprinting.
When combined, these details can create a distinctive fingerprint that may help websites recognize your browser or link your activity to it over time, even when your IP address changes. In other words, changing your IP doesn’t necessarily make you untrackable.
Third-party cookies can also allow advertising networks and trackers to follow your activity across different websites, building a profile of your interests and browsing habits. A VPN doesn’t prevent this type of tracking on its own.
In Chrome, you can restrict third-party cookies under Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies, then select “Block third-party cookies.”
In Firefox, similar protection is available through Enhanced Tracking Protection.Go to Settings → Privacy & Security and select Strict under Enhanced Tracking Protection.
Your choice of browser can also make a difference when it comes to fingerprinting.
Brave, for example, includes built-in anti-fingerprinting techniques designed to limit the information websites can use to build a browser fingerprint, making it harder to identify or track you.
Surfshark from Only €2.49/Month + Extra Months Included
Surfshark is one of the most affordable premium VPN providers currently available. On top of that, it’s one of the few providers that does not log your activity. This has also been independently audited by Deloitte, one of the largest and most reputable auditing firms in the world.
You can also use Surfshark on an unlimited number of devices. Unlike most VPN providers, Surfshark has no device limit.
Surfshark offers several subscription plans and payment options. More specifically, the VPN service comes in four packages across three billing periods (1 month, 12 months, 24 months), with increasing features and pricing.
- Starter: The most affordable plan at €2.49/month including Alternative ID (24 months plus three extra months free).
- One: Includes everything in Starter, plus extra security tools and Surfshark Antivirus. The lowest price is the 24‑month plan at €2.49/month, plus three extra months free.
- One+: Includes all the features of One, plus data removal from data broker sites and people‑search engines. The cheapest option is the 24‑month plan at €4.49/month, plus three extra months free.
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